Hikari no Yasha
by FeatheredMask
Summary: She embraced the shadow, putting her light to sleep. It ate away at her, even in its twisted state. In her effort to keep her 'destiny' at bay and exercise control she signed her own death warrant.
1. Humming

Random and generic title is random and generic.

Hikari no yasha -Light of demon (rough translation)

Yami no game -Shadow game

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><p>Ryou wandered through the dark corridors, humming a forgotten tune softly. His humming was the only sound to be heard in the giant building, his boots silent from practice. At times his humming would lower an octave and his eyes shine garnet before flicking up in pitch and back to doe brown.<p>

He had a lighthearted smile, adding to his already conflicting appearance. His black trenchcoat screamed of dark intentions, while his blue and white striped shirt underneath elicited thoughts of innocence. The gait was that of an arrogant thief's, yet the smile melted away such thoughts.

Ryou read the sign, turning a corner in the direction of the Egyptian exhibit. One might have questioned this action, seeing as the lights had gone off an hour ago and clouds prevented the moon's light from shining through the dotting windows. Yet the museum was closed all this week due to the new ownership, so no one wondered.

The pitch turn a downturn as his feet decided to take a detour to another exhibit. He resumed his path soon after, smirk on his face and a slight weight in his pockets. The smirk softened; the pitch raised.

"Hey! Hey, freeze!"

Ryou halted and ceased his humming. Annoyance flashed over his features, but only for a second, the expression barely processed by the approaching security guard before pushing the thought aside.

A shaky beam of a flashlight landed on him. The guard had his hand at his belt, but hadn't drawn his gun and visibly relaxed as he came closer. Two minds calculated his actions, coming to form a bias against him before they themselves had realized it.

_/His hand trembles-/_

_/-first day on the job, fear of failing-/_

_/-anticipation, eager for action-/_

_/-thinks us a kid-/_

_/-Mistake! Won't draw his gun-/_

_/-lets down his guard - Mistake!/_

Unaware of the psychoanalysis, the man leveled a questioning glare at the albino. "What are you doing here? Don't you know the museum is closed?"

"I'm well aware. My father's the new owner."

The man's eyes bulged. Ryou continued.

"Father left to go to a meeting an hour ago. He gave me permission to look around, seeing as I only just arrived in Jump City. Now if you excuse me, I've been wanting to explore the Egyptian exhibit."

The guard blanched at the clipped tone and stepped aside, stammering an apology.

Ryou swept past, resuming the humming, taking no heed of the suddenly flickering flashlight.

The Egyptian exhibit could easily be called the largest section out of all the rest, filled to a crowded, yet somehow orderly fashion from generous donations and the the new owner's obsession. Hierogyphs covered the walls, translations squeezed in beside them. Quite a few translations were absent, presumably due to a lack of space. The ceiling had not escaped the designer's grasp, painted with designs found on ancient tapestries too old to move.

Ryou laughed when he came across a room detailing the origins of Duel Monsters and how Industrial Illusions had used ancient designs as inspiration. Ryou's humming dropped when he read an interview with Pegasus, the game's creator.

He mourned for a moment longer, before hissing, "Alright, I'm going!"

Ryou stalked out of the room slightly agitated. However, he soon lost himself in the strange familiarity the exhibit brought him. He hummed again, this time a different tune, more lighthearted than the last.

His eyes followed the lines of hieroglyphs and glazed over the laminated translations, mumbling words in another language under his breath. To a spectator, it would look like the humming was broken up, but to Ryou, he never stopped humming.

A door caught his attention and Ryou went over to it when he read the sign - Storage. He gripped the knob, but it didn't turn. Within seconds, the lock clicked and a strand of wire vanished from his hand.

Inside lay fragments of the buried civilization, some wrapped like the mummies beside them, some bound in boxes and duct tape. The priceless artefacts hid here, waiting for juristiction on whether or not they would be put on display.

Bakura snapped his head to the side. A growl started in his throat, yet it reberverated through the room, not like an echo, but as though it came from all around.

A flashlight scanned the area. The shadows whispered of the emotions and intentions this intruder had, yet Bakura let the light pinpoint on him, his own intentions none too pleasant.

"You aren't supposed to be here," Bakura noted. The black-clad individual chuckled.

"Thinking to make it big, kid? The security cameras have already caught your face and with that hair and outfit they'll catch the rest of you."

"I may be a thief, but I have permission. If you play my game, I'll let you be." Bakura chuckled, making the robber shake.

The man stiffened. "I don't have time for games."

"This room has no video or audio feeds. It's detached from the main hallway. It's like it's not even there. The only way someone would think to check is if one of us yells. We have all the time in the world."

"What if I don't want to play?"

"I'll yell."

The man paused, thinking it over. Deciding not risk getting caught, he said, "I'll play. But if I win, you have to hand over that pendant of yours."

Bakura stated his prize quietly and quickly. "When I win I get your soul."

Before the robber could question what drugs the kid was on, Bakura's head snapped up, leering at him through blood red eyes.

_**"Yami no game!"**_

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><p>I just loved writing that beginning. It's always so fun writing about Bakura walking in dark places, and it's fun writing about Ryou's and Bakura's minds overlapping.<p>

Sorry, sorry, if you have me on alert. I know I said I wouldn't do any more YGO xovers, that I wanted to finish one of the other two before I started another, but once I wrote down the idea, I couldn't stop myself from writing out the conversation with the thief, and one thing led to another until the description appeared on the page with celtic metal in the background. Gotta love that celtic metal. I'll try to work on the other two more, but I have the second chapter almost done, if I ever want to come back to this.

Next chapter is when the Teen Titans come in. I originally intended to have them appear this chapter, but decided against it. The original last line was supposed to be: "_"Mr. Bakura," Raven said. "If you don't mind, we'd like to question your son further."_" So there's your preview/spoiler. Yup yup, seems like Ryou's gonna be apprehended for the criminal his yami is.


	2. I am Darkness

The Titans stared at the thick, dark cloud. None of them could put a hand through it, or even touch it, for that matter. Cyborg tried to scan and analyse it, but it was like it didn't exist. After a time of the cloud failing to react with any of their attacks, they called for Raven to check it out.

Raven closed her eyes and concentrated, sending out a tendril of her power. The cloud swelled to meet the tendril, sending a shockwave through it. Her body glowed with runes.

Raven found herself propelled backwards, almost crashing into the other Titans. Her spine stiffened and she felt a shiver of fear. Runes rippled across her skin, glowing black with power before fading away.

"Whoa, how did that happen!"

The rest of the Titans had newfound fear for the dark cloud. Then Raven said something that surprised them.

"I can hear something. Voices, coming from inside."

"Who's in there?" Robin asked, getting as close to the cloud as he dared.

"Two people. Male." She paused. "One is yelling threats sounding hysterical, the other is laughing and poking fun at his 'pitiful pleas'."

Neither of them sounded like pleasant people to the Titans.

"There's a third voice, but I can't make out the gender or words."

She asked, more to herself than anyone else, "'Penalty game'?"

The dark cloud dissipated, seemingly vanishing in the light until they could see two forms. They made no sign of moving, and the Titans merely readied themselves for battle. The cloud cleared so they could see the two clearly.

One lay motionless on the ground, dressed head to toe in black. The other stood a clear five feet away, wicked grin on his face as he stared at something in his hand. he had long white hair, labelling him as an albino unless it turned out he dyed it. He appeared no older than a teenager, the same age as the Titans.

"Who are you?" Robin demanded rather than asked.

The boy started to fall forward in shock, and as soon as he caught himself he stuffed whatever he was holding in his pocket. He turned toward them, with an expression of shock before his eyes narrowed.

"Who are you?" he demanded in turn.

"We're the Teen Titans," Beast Boy announced. He accompanied the following statement with a bizarre fighting stance. "Your worst nightmare."

Something about the second part the boy found funny, a smirk tugging at his lips. However, the smirk eased, forming a soft smile, although still with humor.

"My name is Ryou Bakura."

"What are you doing here?" Cyborg asked.

"My father owns this museum."

Robin narrowed his eyes. "We've been here lots of times. Why haven't we seen you before?"

"I've been living in Japan."

"Cyborg? Can you confirm this?"

"On it."

Beast Boy couldn't help but ask, "Why not live with your dad?"

"He's too busy and has to travel a lot to archeological dig sites."

"Kid's story checks out," Cyborg interrupted, reading something on the monitor on his arm. The rest of the Titans relaxed from their battle stances.

"Ryou!"

An older man burst into the room, bypassed the suddenly battle-ready Titans and stopped, panting, in front of Ryou.

"Ryou," he repeated the albino's name. "I came as soon as I heard-" he stopped, catching his breath.

Ryou blinked in surprise. "I'm fine, Father. I've never seen you so worked up. Is something wrong?"

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Jump City's criminals can be very dangerous."

He noticed the body at that point.

"Egads! What happened!"

The Titans wanted to know as well, so they listened to Ryou's explanation. It was surprisingly short, confusing the Titans, making them wonder why.

"I don't know. I found him like this and then the Teen Titans came and started questioning me."

Ryou's father sighed. "I'm glad that's all that happened. Go back to my place and get some rest."

Ryou nodded. "Yes, Father."

As the albino walked out, Beast Boy muttered, "Who calls their dad 'Father'?"

Three pairs of eyes glared at him.

Ryou's father buried his face in his hands. "I'm going to have more paperwork, aren't I? I need to hire a secretary."

"Mr. Bakura," Raven spoke for the first time since the cloud disappeared. "If you don't mind, we'd like to question your son further."

0o0o0

Ryou sat in the small room reserved for questioning. He stared at Beast Boy, the green Titan staring back. The teen's emotionless mask cracked with a smirk, the sudden change making Beast Boy flinch. He laughed, but the rest of the Titans took no notice, the sound silent with the soundproof glass. The laughter cut off and the mask slid back in place.

Robin separated himself from the group and walked in to the 'cell'. He slammed his hands on the table. Ryou merely stared at him, not even blinking at the attempt at intimidation.

"If you didn't knock that man out, who did?"

Ryou shrugged.

"What was the dark cloud?"

Ryou blinked and tilted his head, the picture of innocence. "Dark cloud? There was no dark cloud."

The door opened and Raven strode in, demanding, "Empty your pockets."

Ryou stiffened, the command hitting a mark. His innocent look sharpened, not taking his eyes from Raven as he tossed his pockets' contents on the table.

Several piece of different kinds of wire, a hair band, a few pieces of jewelry that should have been in a display case, a wallet, a deck of cards, a cell phone, a brush, and a small figurine.

Robin confiscated the jewelry, sending a dirty look to Ryou, who returned it with a smirk. Raven snatched the figurine and left the room. She handed it to Starfire saying, "Hold onto this for a moment. Be very careful with it."

Raven vanished, leaving the rest of the Titans to look at the figurine. It was of a man clad entirely in black, ski mask covering his face. he carried an empty sack, as though he prepared to rob a store.

"Why would he be carrying that around with him?" Beast Boy asked.

"Because he 'won' it."

Raven had returned, with a jar of powder. The rest of the Titans looked confused, but didn't ask. Starfire handed the figurine back to her. Raven took a small handful of the powder and blew it onto the game piece. it dissolved, scattering into the air.

"Come now," a voice purred. "That's cheating."

They whipped around to see Ryou leaning against the wall. Raven spoke.

"I don't recall you stating the rules."

"That's just it. You don't know the rules."

"I thought ebony magic died out years ago."

"Che." Ryou frowned at the lack of rebuttal, but said nothing on it. "It did."

"Then how is a game possible?"

Ryou smirked. "There's more to the magic than games."

"Wait, wait, wait," Beast Boy cut in. "What's this about games and magic? Will someone please tell me what's going on?"

"I think we're all lost," Cyborg added.

Raven explained, "Long ago in Egypt, they played games that would seal away the loser's soul. "

Starfire gasped. Neither Beast Boy nor Cyborg looked too keen on playing one of these games.

"Nearly all information on that time is lost, although my kind call them 'ebony games'. Our 'guest' played one such game with the robber at the museum."

Ryou laughed. "I haven't played a game for a while. Who better than to play with than him? He was going to steal from the museum anyway."

"It's not right to kill someone, no matter who it is!" Robin said, readying for battle.

"No one said anything about killing. I would have released him later. Yadonushi dislikes it when I pay my rent like that."

"Yadonushi?" Robin asked, feeling lost again.

"Japanese for landlord," Raven supplied. She asked Ryou, "How do you know about ebony magic? What are you?"

Ryou's eyes seemed to flare with fire at the last question. The lights went out. Cyborg turned his light on and Starfire used her powers to provide a light, but those dimmed.

A haunting voice that brought to mind a ghost echoed in the room. "This is 'ebony'."

Laughter cackled around them.

"Darkness," whispered Raven. The Titans easily pinpointed her location, unlike their 'guest'.

"I am darkness. I command the darkness!"

Raven sneered, "You are no demon."

"No, I am not. Demons are not pure darkness. They still have a light half. They ignore their light in favor of strengthening the dark until the darkness addles their soul. No, I am no demon. I am darkness."

* * *

><p>I'm using a slightly different version of Ryou's father than how I portray him in Dissociative Magics and Halved and Whole. There is also the difference that Ryou didn't fall into a coma right before the story started. So Ryou had no excuse to transfer schools again, he's just visiting in this story. This story will probably only be novella length once it's finished.<p>

Did anyone notice that throughout that conversation Bakura never gave straight information? The last sentence he did.

Urg, I think this chapter was horrible.


	3. The Spider And The Fly

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters (except Alex) or any settings.

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><p>Green hair and pointy ears rose over the back of the couch, followed by narrowed green eyes. They widened considerably and the whole head dropped down. A barking laugh mocked the green Titan.<p>

Beast Boy shot up at the sound, barking back at the offending laughter. "What are you still doing here? You're supposed to be locked up in a jail cell!"

The albino had a smirk that was much too wide for an apprehended criminal. Flippantly, he said, "The mattress was much too thin and several springs had poked holes in the moth-eaten fabric. So I decided to spend the night here. Your couch is comfy."

The smirk and eyes relaxed; the voice lightened and softened. "I didn't want to impose too much, so the guest rooms weren't touched."

"What are you yelling for?"

Beast Boy whirled around to find Raven walking through the automatic door. As she walked, objects in the kitchen started preparing tea, black energy surrounding the floating utensils.

A white head peered over the top of the couch, waving politely and quietly saying something that Beast Boy couldn't help but recognize as "good morning." Raven spared the intruder a glance, however, showed no surprise, even as he watched the levitation with open intrigue.

Beast Boy groaned loudly at it all, and demanded, "Couldn't you have just gone home?"

"Father's very busy. He wouldn't want to be disturbed."

"You don't think he might be worried about you?"

"He's just confidant I can take care of myself." Beast Boy noticed Ryou rolled his eyes as he said this, but chose not to comment on the strange behavior and only nodded skeptically, thinking this encounter like a detective on TV interrogating a suspect. Although in this case he would the culprit, not the suspect.

"Last night your dad was worried sick."

"Yeah, but it's more interesting here."

"Dude...what?" Raven was now watching them instead of summoning one of her books for entertainment, sipping her tea. "You're an escaped criminal and you hang out at the crime-catcher's place because it's interesting?"

"Back at the old man's place there's ancient bones, mummies, rusty old guns, and everything else liable to fall to dust at the slightest touch. Here, there's an alien, a walking computer, a demon, and a little green man."

"Who're you calling-"

As the albino started laughing, an alarm cut off whatever word Beast Boy did not like being called. Red lights blared across the room, and the last three Teen Titans burst into the room. All attention was directed to the giant television in front of the couch, now displaying a map of Jump City. A small red dot pulsated at the small image of a bank,and information sprouted from it, detailing a middle-aged man's life story and a string of numbers standing for coordinates. Robin reached the screen first, yelling out the important information to the Titans.

"Alex Manson, age 43, carries a stolen gun and a cursed dagger that causes the injured to hallucinate; robbing the Bank of Perez. Let's go!"

Before anyone could take a step out of the room, Beast Boy stopped them, gesturing wildly in Ryou's direction. "What is wrong with you dudes! We can't leave him here!"

Cyborg shouted, "We have that freaky dude back? We don't have time for this, we have to go catch that other robber!"

Robin nodded. "Cyborg's right. We can deal with Ryou later."

Beast Boy blanched. The Titans ran out even as he shouted after them, "We can't leave a criminal alone in the tower!"

Cyborg yelled back, "Just leave him, dude!"

Beast Boy gave a last despairing groan before morphing into a cheetah and racing out.

Bakura gave a last glance as the door shut before laughing and slipping into the shadows.

* * *

><p>A pair of red eyes opened in the alley, the bank beside it blocking out the sun. Screams pierced the noisy city air, and running feet beat a chaotic rhythm. The sirens sounded far, far, far away.<p>

The eyes closed in the alley, the shadows darkening rapidly, engulfing the area in black. None of the emaciated street dogs or mice plump from nibbling garbage made a whimper.

Outside the alley, a ringing alarm spilled out into the bare streets. A cry of, "Titans, go!" broke the monotony, and various sounds more familiar with an action movie filled the air. A gun shot several times. A window broke. A girl screamed. Finally, someone ran into the shadow.

The steps halted. It was clear he noticed the difference as soon as he entered the shadow game. Everything was black, black, black. The white spider was the only colour in sight, leaning against the black.

"Who are you?" the fly caught in the web demanded of the spider.

"You wouldn't remember it, not after our game."

The fly stepped back, finding the same black ground beneath his feet as a step ago. "What game?"

"A yami no game. In English, a shadow game. Do you accept?" The spider chuckled. "The game's already begun. I'll let you figure out the rules."

"What are you on about?" the fly growled, oh! how it growled, thinking itself on equal footing as the spider. One was stuck, the other had free reign. The silly fly ignored the spider, walking past the bored arachnid.

The spider rolled his head away from the retreating fly to stare in the opposite direction, where the fly was stuck. Indeed, the fly found itself walking into the spider's greedy line of vision, never turning around. When it saw the spider, it asked, its antenna flicking in irritation, "How am I supposed to get out of here?"

"Win the game," came the simple answer.

"How do I do that?"

A smirk. Sharp fangs. "Figure it out."

The fly kicked the black wall. "And how am I supposed to do that?"

The spider repeated its answer.

The fly was getting angry. It pretended to have a sharp claw to threaten the spider with. "How 'bout I just beat the answer out of you?" It approached the spider, ignoring the fangs, ignoring the many legs.

The spider's smirk stayed firmly in place, irking the fly more. It struck with its claw, but the spider swung out of the way, letting it graze one of his sticky legs. Red blood welled at the surface of the thin cut. The fly growled, and raised its claw to strike again.

"You cheated."

The fly paused at that, and suddenly found itself where it had always been: cocooned and ready to eat.

"The rules clearly state that attacking the other player is not allowed."

"Wait, you never told me-"

"Penalty game: Mind Crush."

Black, black, black.

The robber laughed, and oh! how he laughed, claiming himself on higher ground than anyone.

He had won, he was free! The black no longer imprisoned him, he had all the money he could ask for! Cash made up the ground, bills fell from the sky blaring numbers in two and three digits. The air, all of it, as far as the eye could see, was raining coins that never rained like pelting rocks.

He saw only money; heard only money as it clinked under his shoes. He didn't hear the high-pitched laughter of the spider. He didn't hear the horrified gasps. He didn't see the police carting him off, or handcuffs being put on the two laughing maniacs.

"You know what?" the fly said, "It was a pretty fun game."

"A fun game," came the outside echo.

* * *

><p>I haven't watched Teen Titans in so long.<p>

I ended up looking up spider and fly anatomy for this chapter.


End file.
